The world is full of Homo sapiens, human beings, the last species of hominid. We have approximately 20,000 genes and a vast diversity in our gene pool. It is exciting and terrifying what our species has achieved. Exciting because we can create amazing things. Terrifying because our individual voices can be lost in the noise. This website belongs to just one hominid, a place for me to share my creativity and voice. And that’s enough.
All tagged gaming
If there’s one word to describe Elden Ring, it is “esoteric”. Designed to be inscrutable, made to be studied and learned like an academic pursuit, playing Elden Ring makes you feel like you’re part of some special club for people who truly wanted to put in the effort. But that esoteric design can also facilitate a tribalism that results in immature trampling on legitimate questions about accessibility and difficulty.
This week, I wanted to talk about the latest video game sensation: Big Vampire Lady from Resident Evil VIllage. Lady Dimitrescu has been drawing a lot of attention for her incredible height and incredible bust, but as high resolution images of her started to spread this week, people also noticed her skin seemed a little odd. But it turns out… she’s not the only one with unusual skin. I talk about my own skin as I discuss the genetics of a condition I have called ichthyosis and how it may relate to the design of Lady Dimitrescu’s skin and also revisit how I feel about that kind of representation in games.
“Gaming disorder” is now a diagnosis according to the World Health Organization and the response to it has ranged from sarcastic skepticism about gaming being treated like a disability to complete faith in it as truth and a hope that its definition will lead to helping people with addiction to gaming. But on deeper inspection, I have doubts about video games in particular being focused on in lieu of addiction being seen as the ultimate problem facing these people.
